1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to wheel and pneumatic tire constructions and, in particular, to a new and useful wheel and tire construction which includes a selected and restricted deformation portion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
All tires of the type conventionally used on motor vehicles have characteristic rolling resistances which cause an additional dissipation of work energy to that energy needed to propel the weight of the vehicle. The rolling resistance of tires are generally related to the amount of deformation experienced by the tire as it rolls, the structure and rigidity of the tire material itself and other factors which have been studied extensively by this applicant and others. Examples of this work include U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,272 of Aug. 20, 1974 this applicant and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 749,664 filed Dec. 3, 1976, and now abandoned, also by this applicant. These phenomenon are more fully described and disclosed in the parent to this application identified above.